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Outside Magazine December 2003
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The Pulse (cont.)

 
[The Procedure]
More than 80 percent of runners suffering from plantar fasciitis, a.k.a. "runner's heel," were able to go back out and run pain-free after three to five treatments using low-energy shock waves generated by a ball pressed into the foot. Plantar fasciitis—most often caused by tight calf muscles or simply by running too much—
Outdoor Adventure Image Adventure Tourism Adventure Travel Photography
(Illustration by Christoph Niemann)
is characterized by inflammation and persistent heel pain, the result of cumulative stress on the tissue that connects the ball of the foot to the heel and supports the arch. With each treatment, 2,000 targeted acoustic vibrations are aimed directly at the busted tissue, with full recovery taking about 12 weeks. "Shock waves stimulate the growth of blood vessels and the restoration of normal tissue," says Jeffrey Gross, chief of rehabilitation medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. "This actually causes the tissue to completely heal."
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